Artists pull out of Kennedy Centre New Year’s eve show following Trump's renaming

Artists are cancelling their bookings with the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts ever since Donald Trump put his name in the institution on December 18. The Cookers, a Jazz ensemble scheduled to perform on New Year's Eve, cancelled their show; the group has not presented any specific reason, but has left a cryptic message on its website. However, the drummer of the band told The New York Times that the President getting involved in the renaming of the historic centre was “evidently” a factor.

“Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice,” read the message. "Some of us have been making this music for many decades, and that history still shapes us. We are not turning away from our audience, and do want to make sure that when we do return to the bandstand, the room is able to celebrate the full presence of the music and everyone in it."

Richard Grenell, the President of the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, targeted the left in a social media post, saying that the artists were booked by the left and they preferred political activism more than the art. “Boycotting the Arts to show you support the Arts is a form of derangement syndrome,” wrote Grenell.

Another Jazz musician, Chuck Reed, cancelled a Christmas Eve performance after Trump's name was added to the building's signage. Grenell had threatened $1 million lawsuit for the cancellation of the event. “Your dismal ticket sales and lack of donor support, combined with your last-minute cancellation has cost us considerably. This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt,” said Richard Grenell.

US President Donald Trump, since his election into office, has dismissed all the board members within a couple of weeks. By February, the new board members elected Trump as the President. White House said that the board voted to rename the centre “because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building.”